Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock these past few years, you’ll have already noticed the growing omnipresence of AI-powered tools in both Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace. Take NotebookLM (now Gemini Notebooks) for instance, a hugely powerful and immensely popular tool with Irish teachers, particularly in Workspace schools. And whilst Copilot Notebooks, a similar
Copilot Notebooks: A New AI Workspace for Teachers Read More »
Recently, while working on a report with some international educators, we had some very fruitful conversations about student data and its visualisation. In my Irish teaching career, I don’t have many memories of delving into large student datasets, while my time in an American high school brings back memories of department chair meetings where every
Pictures worth a thousand data points Read More »
Preamble I have spent the past few months engaged in a number of research activities associated with the use of AI in schools and in further education and training (FET) contexts in Ireland and across the EU. This work has consisted of research on AI uses in Irish schools with UNESCO and through H2’s involvement
Generative AI and Classroom Practice – What is the story? Read More »
Wait, it cannot be September already? As I perused the pre-summer blog posts to check what my previous blog post entry was, I realised there was quite a run of AI posts in a row, so I decided to go to one of my favourite topics: podcasts. The summer tends to see me increase the
An Audioholic’s Summer Listening Read More »
This post comes from reflecting on my last year as a doctorate student. It has been a year that has taught me more about learning in times of GenAI, and while my context is a doctorate student, I think the lessons are relevant to any older or adult student navigating study and assignments. My main
Students – Don’t Let GenAI Cause You Anxiety! Read More »
Competency-based Education Recently I had had the pleasure of hosting a delegation from Bulgaria who are about to introduce competency-based education into their education system. During their visit we met with multiple experts in the field of competency based education and discussed how the Irish school system has gone on this journey. The National Council
Competency-based Education Read More »
Recently, ISTE + ASCD partnered with the Google for Education team to release the Google AI Educator Series, which is a completely free on-demand training programme leading to a Google badge. The series is built around 15-minute sessions and class-based use cases. The focus is on Google AI tools such as Gemini for Education and
Google AI educator Series launched Read More »
Teachers typically split their working time at school engaging in Teaching Time and Non-Teaching Time, as captured in the following OECD diagram. Teachers are busy professionals and we know they spent a great deal of time engaged in lesson preparation, sourcing curriculum materials, correcting assignments and tests, collaborating with their peers and engaging in professional learning. This time is typically referred to as “non-teaching time” and it can take-up a sizeable amount of their time each day.
The EU Digital Education Content Guidelines Read More »
I remember studying for the Leaving Cert with a refill pad, multiple pens and coloured highlighters. I would read what I needed to learn, rewrite/paraphrase it, then colour code the different points (good old rote learning!). In later years I would go to staff meetings and jot down notes, or scribble diagrams; sometimes these would make sense to others, other times they would only talk to me. However, I also distinctly remember being annoyed when people would hand me a paper with important information – nine chances out of ten, this paper would get lost before I took the time to grab a photo of it (and think to myself, why didn’t you just email this to me).
Physically writing in an AI filled world! (Benefits of digital notetakers) Read More »
CESICON is back, baby. Like the halcyon days of Anglo Irish Bank during the Celtic Tiger, CESICON – the conference of Computers in Education Society of Ireland (CESI) – saw a return to the old days, with a large attendance on Saturday 28th February at Gaelcholáiste Luimnigh in Limerick City. Like the old days, there
